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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2019 15:11:22 GMT -6
Hi all, So, 36 weeks from now, the latest and final novel in the "Shannara" series of books is scheduled to be released. As "Shannara" was, at the tender age of ten or eleven, the one big series that got me into fantasy literature. In many ways, "Shannara" even got me here, if you will. - So, given that "Shannara" consists of 30-something texts, this seems like a nice opportunity to do a read-along countdown; my idea is, of course, to discuss about one text per week, from here to June. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ShannaraI do this both to refresh my memory on the setting, but also because I have sort of a love-hate relationship to especially many of the later books in the series: Around the year 2000, Terry Brooks (the author of the series), increased his literary production substantially, and, since then, about one new book in the series has been published every year. Lamentably, with this increase, the literary quality of the series has suffered highly - at least in parts. While my personal favorites of this series are probably going to be with me forever, I doubt that I'll ever go back and take a serious look at the books in the series that I didn't like So, what I'm thinking about here is to post my thoughts on each of the books, one by one, in order of their publication. The idea is also very much that you all chime in, however you like: After all, hate them or love them, the history of "Shannara", due to its immense popularity with readers, is also tied with the progress of fantasy literature, and the genre as a whole, over the last forty-something years. Before I get into the first entry, here's an overview of the texts I'd like to tackle:
In all likelihood, I will reread them, at least in part, or, if time grows short, at least listen to their audiobook versions, as I go along. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Brooks_bibliographyHope this is as much fun to you as it will be to me. - R
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2019 16:21:21 GMT -6
Entry, the first: "The Sword of Shannara", 1977.
Spoilerific Mini-Review
Shea Ohmsford, a tavern keeper's adopted son, is revealed to be the last descendant of a legendary Elven king, and a proverbial "pawn of prophecy". He is called to confront the local dark lord of doom, and he does so. But the real treasure are the friends he makes along the way.
The Best
The intense storytelling: "Sword" is fast-paced, and manages to bring tension to scenes that, even in 1970s fantasy, had likely been overused to the point of becoming literary tropes. That's perhaps Brooks' defining gift as an author, and not something to take lightly, or to dismiss: He doesn't "subvert" those scenes, like later writers, but he presents them in ways that are especially pleasant to read. Especially in the first half of the novel, when it's not yet completely clear where the story is going, he manages to create a realistic threat level for his protagonists - characters, mind you, that are on the book's cover, and that usual literary conventions command not to be overly harmed, or to die. That Brooks manages to (re-) tell this oft-told tale in a way that doesn't come off as heavy-handed or boring is what basically "makes" the novel, from three Southlanders getting lost in the Black Oaks, to two Elven brothers trying to defend a human fortress later in the story.
The Worst
The setting and the plot. "Sword" has justly been described as some sort of "dumbed-down, more action-oriented 'Lord of the Rings'", and it really is. That his is a charming tale, nonetheless, doesn't take away from the fact that Brooks' overall world-building abilities appear quite limited, a fact that will continue to haunt the series in later installments. For an adult reader of 2019, this story holds no surprises, and the worldbulding is a joke.
Notable Characters
Speaking as someone who was very impressed by the book, I have quite the list for you.
First, there's Flick, the grumpy, even occasionally quite acerbic step-brother to Shea, the book's hero: Starts out as "Surrogate Sam Gamgee", ends up as fantasy "Working Class Hero", also later appearing briefly in "Elfstones". The most relatable of Brooks' fantasy party, and woefully underused.
Second, there's Palance, the delightfully mad prince-regent of "Surrogate Gondor" Tyrsis: With Palance, Brooks shows that he can do more than just copy Tolkien; extremely well-written character, this one, even though he only appears in a small number of chapters.
Plus, there's Menion Leah, every kid's dashing, flawless hero; his portrayal in the books is quite noteworthy, as well, if only because Brooks will never be so obviously be in love with a character, in later novels.
Legacy
Apart from the fact that this novel would go on to spawn over 30 bestselling sequels, and can likely take a good portion of credit for aiding to create the fantasy genre as we know it, the book is also notably for its 2012 "anniversary" edition, as that one came with footnotes and comments by the author - and that makes it a pretty interesting look into what could perhaps be described as "an author's journey to create a very conventional adventure tale". This might seem a pretty backhanded comment, but for storytellers just like us here, who have to come up with a pretty conventional and easy-to-follow story for their players every second weekend of the month, this might provide an interesting number of insights.
Read now, later, or never?
Now.
Being one of the defining works of fantasy fiction of the 20th century, and one of the most popular titles of the "Golden Age of D&D", most of us know this one already, anyway. But if you happen to not know it, give it a look, if only for historical reasons. The book is well-written, charming, free of controversy or misplaced literary ambition, and the story is, if nothing more, then at least pretty uncomplicated, straight-forward, and easy to follow.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2019 2:02:30 GMT -6
Entry, the second: "Shannara - The Video Game", 1995.Spoilerific Mini-ReviewImmediately following up to my mini-review of "Sword" with this; first, because I find that I like this format, and second, because I'm woefully aware that a proper review of the entire series will likely take me way more than 36 weeks. So, I'm doing quick stuff in between the larger reviews. (That also require way more extensive reading because I have surely forgotten many details). Plus, quite frankly, I want to keep things fresh: Reviewing forty-year-old books usually doesn't lead one to all-too surprising conclusions. Now, this video game, itself a crisp 24 years old, is probably something that's not already on people's radar. Everybody might have expected me to review "Elfstones" next, so this is why I'm doing something else. So, this game, a classic "Legend Entertainment"-style point-and-click-adventure, follows Jake Ohmsford, son of Shea, in his quest to defeat the Warlock Lord once more. That notorious evil-doer has been resurrected by a Shadowen (a member of the later group of primary antagonists from "The Heritage of Shannara", 1990-1993) using a magic book called "The Ildatch" (the center of the "Wishsong" plot, from 1985). In a fashion not entirely without comparison to a certain Guybrush Threepwood, Jake and his friends tour all of the Four Lands, bringing peace and love to wherever destiny calls them. The BestThe visuals: This game, unlike the later 2016 TV series, gets all the visuals right. Obviously, it does so optimized for "Windows 95"-style SVGA standards, but still so, it manages to deliver a gratifying experience. The world you are traveling through looks and sounds just like a reader of the novels might have imagined. Especially from today's perspective, this might be the chief reason for any prospective player to consider this - you get handed a tourist's visa to the Four Lands, and exploring that world in an interactive way is perhaps as much fun as the main story you're supposed to follow. The gaming experience: The game itself is solid, well-balanced, and overly entertaining. Obviously, again, it's old, by today's standards, but back in the day, it was counted as one of the best adventures around. There is even a (then, much-debated and criticized) "travel mode", in which you can move between the game's different main locations: That travel mode introduces some basic action-adventuring and fighting to the otherwise very pointy-and-clicky game. It also has the pleasant side effect of letting you explore even further parts of the world than just what the main story supplies. The WorstThe runtime: This is a '90s adventure, so expect it to be easy and fast to play through. Any experienced gamer will complete "Shannara" in one or two long evenings. While that, per se, is not bad, in consequence it does mean that you will not spend tremendous amounts of time exploring the world and its perils. Consequently, especially when coming from the novels, your journey through the setting feels a bit rushed, and some parts of the story (particularly the one where you are introduced to Hendel's son) feel quite bland because of this hastiness. The main plot: Even if only unintentionally, the game has some parodistic tendencies, and that kind of has always bugged me. The game rushes you through a number of scenes that, in the serious context of the book universe, could not have happened like this. While that surely might make for a quick chuckle, here and there, it also takes from the overall experience. Think of the flair, in the less serious parts of the game, being comparable to what Disney did with "The Black Cauldron", as opposed to how Lloyd Alexander presents it in his "Taran" novels: The adaptation is surely good, and worthy of praise - just not what you expect to see as a reader. Notable CharactersOverall, the game is sold by the character-to-character interaction. On one side, because the player gets the chance to meet many characters from the books; seeing them put on scene like this is pleasant and fun. On the other side, the characters you collect for your adventuring party are well-written and interesting, and within the context of the novels, their backstories and motivations are exceptionally plausible, which is one of the game's major accomplishments. Of the book characters, aged king Balinor of Tyrsis is perhaps the most remarkable "NPC" you meet. Of the new characters, Shella, daughter to Menion Leah, and another of Shannara's "Token Leahs", as well as Jake's love interest, has by far the best story. That their relationship doesn't work out - to say the least - is one of the most impacting moments in my personal gaming history. Especially within the otherwise comical, comic-book atmosphere of the game, this part of the story is bound to hit you like a truck. LegacyWell, "Shannara" apparently was a hit title, back in the day, and it helped manifest "Legend Entertainment" as the prime provider of video game adaptions from literary sources, at least for a time. But today, the game - and this entire style of making adventure games - is utterly forgotten, like so many gems from the days of yore. The game has been declared "abandonware" a while ago, though, and so it's available online for free, to the best of my knowledge. It's one of those games that I always consider playing during Christmas season: It's quick, it will make me feel wholesome, and it brings back childhood memories of all sorts. Play now, later, or never?Later. Unless you're a huge fan of the series, or of old video games, in general, this is likely not a title that you need to have played. However, if you are a fan of the series, consider that this is likely the best and most faithful adaptation the series will ever get. Not considering this game is like being a self-professed a "Greyhawk" fan, but refusing to check out Troika's "Temple of the Elemental Evil", or being a reader of the comic book series "Fables", yet not looking at "The Wolf Among Us".
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2019 2:06:07 GMT -6
There are actually a few "Let's Play" videos of the game, up on Youtube. This, in my opinion, is the best and the most complete one, if you want to take a look.
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Post by Finarvyn on Sept 23, 2019 17:34:21 GMT -6
I will be interested in seeing how this thread goes. I have this love-hate relationship with Shannara. I remember reading it in '77(?) when it first came out, and I liked it even if it was sort of Tolkien-derivative. I've bought many of the books at one time or another and tried to read them, only to find that I just don't like Brooks' writing style for some reason. So I sell the books and a few years later rebuy some of them all over again. I love flying ships, so the Jerle Shannara series was intriguing but I never got "into" it for some reason. When the tv series came out I rushed out to buy the books that matched the series, but they took me forever to plow through. I keep thinking that Shannara would be a great D&D world but I can't get motivated enough to work on it. Anyway, perhaps this thread will inspire me to rush out and buy a bunch of the books again. If not, reading your reactions will probably be a lot of fun, too.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2019 13:04:50 GMT -6
I will be interested in seeing how this thread goes. I have this love-hate relationship with Shannara. I remember reading it in '77(?) when it first came out, and I liked it even if it was sort of Tolkien-derivative. I've bought many of the books at one time or another and tried to read them, only to find that I just don't like Brooks' writing style for some reason. So I sell the books and a few years later rebuy some of them all over again. The thing is, looking at Brooks' evolution as a writer is one of my more private endeavors in this retrospective: He changes his style a number of times, and his literary skill ranges from engaging to extremely tiresome. - Like other writers, namely Raymond Feist with "Midkemia", or Mercedes Lackey with Valdemar, Brooks continued to write "Shannara" novels way beyond where other writers would have taken them. So, at some point, it also becomes their testing ground, so to speak. This one reads better today than it did when it came out: First, now we know where Brooks really wanted to take things, and second, most of the ideas now don't seem like he had borrowed them from a '90s video game. Hated that one with the fire of a thousand hells, will review it more properly later. - That said, the general idea of filming "Elfstones" and "Wishsong" could well have worked under different circumstances. Will tackle this later on, as well. Basically, a few attempts were made, but none all too successful, and none of them managed to garner a significant following. My theory why this keeps happening is the same reason why people usually prefer bigger settings over smaller ones - because finding an individual niche, and fresh ideas, 30 books into a series, is really difficult. Hehe, thanks. I hope so. The books - some of them, at least - are quite good, and this has been something I've been wanting to do for a while.
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Post by verhaden on Sept 24, 2019 17:45:44 GMT -6
It's a wonder I ever managed to read Books 4-7, because the first three were absolutely tiresome. Really enjoyed the direction he ended up taking in Scions through Talismans.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2019 10:37:03 GMT -6
I actually like the original trilogy best, I think - if only because they might very well have been the very first fantasy books I did ever read. As to them holding up to more modern genre or general literary standards - spoiler alert - I think the "Heritage" quartet takes the cake. The rest of the books are, I think, not entirely bad - just noticeably not as good as the books Brooks wrote before.
As to the general concept of Brooks' worldbuilding and naming/linguistic coherency skills, I tend not to focus on that, all too much - because they are terrible to begin with. "The Four Lands"-concept surely has a certain bluebook-ish sense of aestheticism, but if you're looking at a map where the bad guy's place is literally signaled by skull, the drawing of a skull, then I'm inclined not to measure that world with the same standards that I use for concepts that rely
Notably, I think this also where Brooks later fails: As soon as he tries to increase his setting's realism, and introduces things like more advanced technology, or a more elaborated structure to things like government, or the Druid order, then that starts being alien to his readers. - It's not that the quality of those structures is bad, it's just that it doesn't quite seem to fit with the faery tale, "basic D&D" Four Lands. There are other instances where Brooks creates more complex settings, notably in "The Word and the Void" - and they are pretty awesome. It's just that he ends up completely overloading "Shannara".
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2019 11:49:54 GMT -6
Entry, the third: "The Elfstones of Shannara", 1982.
Spoilerific Mini-Review
Tonight's review is easy, because this book is universally regarded one of Brooks' finest - and it really is: Will Ohmsford, grandson of Shea (and presumably son to Jake, from the video game) is visited by the Druid Allanon to help save the Elven king's favorite houseplant. Which also happens to be the seal to a demonic netherworld, and therefore should better get back to good health really soon.
The Best
While "Sword" was a completely Tolkienesque fetch-the-magic-item-and-fulfill-the-prophecy novel, "Elfstones" can be described as military fantasy with horror elements. That significant change of tone and pace is what keeps it fresh for the readers of the first book, and what makes the book a novel of note within its genre. - This probably sounds like very little, but really isn't: Brooks doesn't spend a lot of time on worldbuilding and "add-on exposition", which is usually with what most modern fantasy novels explain their copious page counts; Brooks but jumps right into the action. Instead of trying tell a "bigger" tale than in his previous novel, he works with literary elements of reduction, and, that way, manages to up the ante for the reader. Focusing on Will, Ander, Allanon, and Eventine instead of on a bigger ensemble of characters (like in "Sword") does allow Brooks to tell more intimate stories, and to explore the personal struggle against this supernatural ender-of-times-style threat to a way higher degree than he did in "Sword". The crowning achievement of the novel are its supernatural villains, though - and that, for "vanilla fantasy" from thirty-five years ago, should be noted as something that's pretty remarkable. - In "Sword", the villains have so few defining traits, their actions often seem almost random. In "Elfstones", he gives them way more attention and space, telling entire chapters from their points of view - but without committing the storytelling flaw of so many other writers, which would be, to fall in love with them. In the Shannara novel series, and in fantasy, in general, I'd say that the three demonic captains are among the finest villains we've ever got.
The Worst
Will Ohmsford and his love triangle with Amberle and Eretria is what keeps this very good book from becoming a great one: As long as Allanon, Ander, and other, more mature characters are involved, "Elfstones" is a remarkably gritty tale about how a false sense of security can outright "kill" an otherwise functioning society. - As soon as Will and his two female companions are involved, however, "Elfstones" becomes a soft-hearted teenage drama. Some of it - again - is written quite well, no doubt: Especially the very last scene of the books stands out as one of the best chapters I personally recall to have read - in any genre. Also, Will's last conversation with Allanon is among the best that fantasy literature may ever offer. ...But overall, the love story plot is neither very complex nor very unconventional, and any experienced reader will anticipate the ending quite early into the tale.
Now, that I name this as "the worst" trait of the book might mislead some to believe that I didn't like the love story: In fact, I did like it, and I repeat that it is very well written, which is also something you don't automatically expect to find in "vanilla fantasy". Rather than "bad", I just think it's the least engaging part of the book, compared to the rest. But it's still entertaining, and the ending of the novel, again, is quite masterfully told by Brooks.
Notable Characters
Making Allanon a central character of this novel, instead of keeping him as the Ersatz-Gandalf he had been in the first book, is one of Brooks' strokes of genius. We learn a lot about the Druid's internal motivations, we have him talk and explain his decisions to others - as an equal, not as a teacher. From a plot device, he develops into an engaging character, and we even get a hint at some inner struggle that characters of this kind usually don't display in other works of the genre.
Next to Allanon, there's Ander Elessedil, son of Eventine, the Elven king Flick had saved back in "Sword". Ander acts as a foil to Will Ohmsford, and contrasts the teenage drama surrounding the Ohmsford chapters of the book with the level-headed and adult perspective of a political thinker trying to protect his own family in a time of crisis. Especially Brooks' descriptions of Ander becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the events that transpire before him take the novel out of the realm of faerie tales, and, at least for those chapters, turn it into a thriller.
Finally, an aged Flick Ohmsford making an appearance early in the book was a beautiful idea by Brooks: Without learning all too many specifics about society's progress since "Sword", Flick makes the sequel seem natural within the inner logic of its universe. Whether his change of view concerning the events of "Sword" is necessarily natural, though, or whether Brooks used it to facilitate a plot device, I'm not going to speculate about. But to see him back is quite heartwarming, and also quite effective storytelling.
Legacy
More than "Sword", "Elfstones" is probably what established "Shannara" as a brand in the 1980s: It's a d**n fine novel with the ideal length for the story it wants to tell, and it tells its story - which again takes a lot of inspiration from Tolkien - in an efficient and entertaining way. As a kid, this was certainly my favorite novel in the entire series, next to "Sword".
Nowadays, "Elfstones" is mainly known for serving as the inspiration for the horrible and unnecessary 2016 "Shannara" TV series. - Going to review that one as well, as we go along, but for the moment, let's just say that the 2016 adaptation has about as much to do with the book as, whatever, the recent movie adaptation of "The Dark Tower" has in common with the series by Stephen King that it is supposedly based on.
- As a D&D player, there's another thing about which I have wondered, over the years: Is Brooks' Arborlon perhaps really the first (prominent) occasion in which we get a humanized description of otherwise very Tolkienian elves? Of the sort that we later meet in Dragonlance, FR, Mystara, and so many other "2e" era stories and game products? I have no answer to this, but looking at many of the books from back in the day, I'm inclined to say... It might well be.
Read now, later, or never?
Later.
Even though this is likely the most famous book in the entire series, it's also a book of de-facto transition, comparable perhaps on that level to Frank Herbert's "Dune Messiah", in its relation to "Children of Dune": The more important book in the trilogy will be "Wishsong", because it will be there where the rules for the setting in future installments will be defined - how magic works, how Druids are, uhm, retired and re-made, what the evil forces in this world generally might want, and where the story will go for the next five-hundred years.
That's a bit of a backhanded statement to make, because "Elfstones" is likely one of the very best novels in oldschool fantasy - at least before the "Thomas Wolfes" of the genre, Tad Williams and George R. R. Martin, came along. For the Shannara series as a whole, though, the novel ultimately ends up being the story of "how the parents of the protagonists of 'Wishsong' met each other", and preciously little else. If you're reading the series out of order, this is probably the easiest book to skip, or to postpone.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2019 4:05:57 GMT -6
Entry, the fourth: "The Wishsong of Shannara", 1985.
Spoilerific Mini-Review
Because trilogies need a third book to be complete, the great-grandchildren of Shea Ohmsford (and thusly, the children of Will and Eretria) embark on an epic journey to fix a number of plot holes from the first book, and also to open the door for a plethora of later sequels. There is a joke about "El Guapo" here that I'm too lazy to make.
The Best The plot and the journey: Plotwise, this is easily the most efficient book I've ever read (except, whatever, books like "The Forsythe Saga", or stuff John Steinbeck writes) when it comes to rounding up a series. Allanon gets closure, the Warlock lord gets closure, the Ohmsford family gets closure, Leahs and Elessedils get closure, and, obviously, with the journey to the East, the setting itself gets closure. Structurally, this book is nothing less but masterful - and I mean what I write here.
The Worst There is a difference between a good plan and a good plan's execution. Brooks might have learned that the hard way, with this book: "Wishsong" has the doubtful distinction of, at least on the drawing board, being one of the very best books in the Shannara series. Had Brooks persevered here, this could have become one of the seminal novels of fantasy literature, easily on par with the greatest post-Tolkien works the genre was still going to get. - But Brooks didn't. Or, he missed a deadline, and his publisher took the manuscript away from him. Or, he was pressed into writing a YA novel, something that doesn't seem to come to him naturally.
And so, the novel we actually get feels remarkably rushed and incomplete: About two-hundred pages too short for its own plot, really. And yet, loaded with filler chapters about teenage angst. Introducing two dozens of fitting and interesting characters, only to discard them almost immediately in favor of a very doubtful focus on only a few of them. A "miss" on a narrative level, quite simply.
Now, all that doesn't make "Wishsong" a "bad" book yet; its well-thought-out structure saves it from that. But it does make it a fairly conventional "80s vanilla fantasy" novel that likely would have become quite forgettable if the titular "Wishsong" hadn't plays such an important role in later books. It's certainly the weakest of the Shannara books up until 1985, and will remain so for quite a while.
Notable Characters
Apart from a group of Jair's companions whose main function in the novel it is to die, the most remarkable character of the story is Rone Leah, great-grandson of Menion from "Sword". He is the first in a line of token characters that will, from then on, feature in all future Shannara adventures as "the bearers of the black sword". - Menion wasn't quite a "foil" to Shea and Flick, but Rone is to Brinn and Jair. He's brave, optimistic, and extroverted, and even occasionally funny in a novel in which the main personality trait of the protagonists is their never-ending anxiety. Rone's presence keeps those chapters readable, and the fact that - like his ancestor - he gets the girl in the end, gives a heartwarming conclusion to the whole story.
Another character that deserves a honorable mention is Cogline, who might best be described as "an old stoner living on a mountaintop": Cogline's backstory is only hinted at in this novel, but will be expanded in later installments of the series. It's difficult to see from what we get from him in "Wishsong", but he might well be Brooks' best character in the whole world of "Shannara".
Legacy
This is likely the most important book of the first trilogy, possibly the most important book of the series, in total. - The titular "Wishsong" becomes the binding element between all of the later sequels, and, that way, something like "the core" of the Shannara universe, even above the different talismans. "Wishsong" is also interesting because what I write above - it feeling rushed, it feeling like stuff was left out - seems to also be something that Brooks himself seems to consider: The first two Shannara short stories Brooks has published, "Indomitable" and "Dark Wraith", from 2003 and 2008, respectively, do fix some of the novels evident flaws. But that is for another chapter of this retrospective. Now, Brooks has gone on record saying that, while he doesn't intend to advance the Shannara timeline beyond the events of 2020's upcoming "The Last Druid", he might write more stories and novels that accentuate past events within the series. - My bet is that, among others, we are going to see a direct sequel to "Wishsong", at some point.
Read now, later, or never?
Now. Flawed as it is, "Wishsong" is the beginning of the "real" Shannara. And even a rushed Brooks is still noticeably better than other authors. Especially as a one-book story, "Wishsong" can still entertain if you know what you're going to get.
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Post by tkdco2 on Oct 1, 2019 2:51:55 GMT -6
Dragon #286 has articles on turning Shannara into a D&D campaign. The system used is 3e, so you'll have to make a few conversions. Some folks may have used 5e for their Shannara campaigns.
As for the books:
Sword was fun. I read it after Elfstones, so there were a couple of spoilers.
Elfstones was enjoyable, except for the ending. I was pretty upset about the way the book ended.
Wishsong was okay. I don't remember much about it, though I remember enjoying the story.
I only saw the pilot of the TV series and decided it wasn't for me. So I can't say much about it.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2019 23:32:10 GMT -6
Dragon #286 has articles on turning Shannara into a D&D campaign. The system used is 3e, so you'll have to make a few conversions. Some folks may have used 5e for their Shannara campaigns. Never warmed up to that concept, but, then again, never really tried this myself. "Walker Boh standing on the ship", as seen on the cover of Dragon mag, was my "default" avatar on many fora for many years, though. Hehe, yeah, this was certainly one of the first prominent "twist endings" we got in the genre. - Now, as I had played the "Seiken Densetsu" game for the Game Boy the year before I read "Elfstones" in 1993 or 1994, and since that game is heavily inspired by Brooks' trilogy, I already had an inkling about what was going to happen in the novel. Plus, I had kind of always favored Eretria over Amberle, if only because I've never quite liked Elves in fiction. (The Elves of the Pinis, maybe. Tolkien's or Brooks' Elves, strangely not so much.) Because I in fact do love the "Shannara" books, and have great admiration for Terry Brooks as a writer, I'm trying not to be too mean-spirited in my reviews here: So, I want to repeat what I said earlier, that "Wishsong" is a good book, just very, very bland. - How bland? So bland that could just talk about the novel extensively without naming or detailedly describing any of its two centrla protagonists, Jair and Brinn. Yet, my little review doesn't feel incomplete. I'll take a closer look at that one as I review "Dark Legacy of Shannara" at a later point. - Basically, apparently Brooks lays out some of the concepts that are later used in the series in "Daark Legacy", to the point when "Dark Legacy" is perhaps a bigger influence on the TV series than the actual "Elfstones". (At least how I remember things now.) - It doesn't quite help things that "Dark Legacy" is easily the worst sequence in the whole "Shannara" series.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2019 12:31:41 GMT -6
Follow-ups to "Wishsong", 2003, 2008, 2013.
Premise
As I wrote above, "Wishsong" is easily the most important novel in the whole "Shannara" cycle. At the same time, it's easily the worst in the series, until the later "Grianne" novels. - And I'm pretty sure Brooks realized this at some point, because he has kept doctoring on "Wishsong" more than on any other of his works. I might be projecting here, but Brooks strikes me as a craftsman and a disciplinarian. For a person like that, leaving bad work alone is a really hard thing to do.
Consequently, it comes at no surprise that it is "Wishsong" that Brooks returns to the most, in the form of shorter stories. Before we move on, I wanted to take a look at those, if only because I wanted to find out whether my fairly low opinion of "Wishsong" was maybe biased by, whatever, my possible dislike for some characters, or other, exterior influences while reading it.
"Indomitable", released in the famous anthology "Legends II", by Robert Silverberg, 2003.
Jair is called back into the Eastland, this time by Kimber Boh, to destroy the Ildatch's last, loose page. - This one received some considerable praise when it came out, IIRC, and while I'm still sour after the rather sobering experience of rereading "Wishsong", I liked this one way better. One key factor here is language - the poetic style that Brooks applies here, and the sullen soliloquies of Jair, even though rather stereotypical, those two elements work well here. It's a piece of well-done, effective storytelling, and revisiting the characters, knowing that all of them have a considerable influence on the later books in this very long series, to me felt quite welcome. For my own taste, the story could be darker, but then - it's supposed to be the sequel to the most vanilla of all fantasy books. So, it's likely to be very, very vanilla.
"Dark Wraith of Shannara", released as a graphic novel, 2008.
Being the result of choices a writer doesn't make without his publisher, "Shannara" got a manga-style graphic novel, at the pinnacle of the manga/anime craze in the US. Story-wise, "Dark Wraith" is a sequel to "Indomitable", having Jair return to the Eastland for a third time, with a vengeance. Style-wise, it's a black-and-white graphic novel, sold as one single trade paperback in pocket-size format. And overall, it's a disappointment. - The plot of "Dark Wraith" is a slightly more theatrical rehash of "Indomitable", this time featuring additional appearances of Allanon, Slanter (Jair's best friend in "Wishsong"), and a supposedly cinematic boss fight with a character that is apparently meant to foreshadow another more prominent one, the "Ilse Witch". And while that, in itself, is not completely artless, we've heard the tale of the young Jair's journey to the Eastland before. Twice.
More importantly, though, for a graphic novel, the art just doesn't work. This is partly due to the terrible, terrible format, but also due to the fact that "Shannara" is not suited to be a manga-style tale. The same story, illustrated by Gary Gianni or Tim Sale, would surely have worked better - or, at least, differently. Instead, this looks like the concept art for the doomed "Dragonlance" animated movie. There are times this looks like some high school kid's summer project, honestly. - Maybe, in normal comic-book size, this could have been a little bit better, but as it is, it seems like it's designed, on every level, not to please.
The only redeeming element of the story is that Jair, Slanter, and several other characters, are left at an interesting narrative crossroads. If it's not a third rehash of the original book, a sequel to this one could even work.
"The Weapon Master's Choice", released as part of the "Paladins of Shannara" series of e-books, 2013.
Brooks trying something new here, telling a Howardian and Conan-esque tale of one of the central characters of "Wishsong", the "Weapons Master" Garet Jax, whom those who haven't read the novels may well imagine as an epic-level OD&D Assassin. The setup of this story is quite well done, again, as happens often with Brooks, the planned structure itself is better than the project's execution. And that's what's the case here as well:
Garet Jax is called by a mystery woman to kill a vampire-like creature that has enslaved a remote colony of lepers: So far, so engaging. Now, what could be a fantastic setup for an adult-oriented tale - and one we know that Brooks is capable to write - is used to tell a terribly bland YA-oriented tale that is devoid of any real passion for it's actual plot, and focuses on Garet Jax' mostly pointless infatuation with the mystery woman. Putting this out as I felt when I read it: A miss of biblical proportions.
Legacy
So, has Brooks "redeemed" Wishsong through its follow-ups, in my personal opinion? Maybe. "Indomitable" was perhaps already enough to do that. Beyond that, the stories form a very mixed sub-series: They are clearly designed as attempts to get away from the "Tolkienian epic quest" formula that is both the biggest pleasure and the worst bane of the "Shannara" series, but both attempts at making something new with the older material clearly do fail. They already foreshadow the rather fundamental - and terribly misguided - redesign the world of "Shannara" would get in the TV series.
Read now, later, or never?
"Indomitable": Later. If you liked "Wishsong", which is easier than my earlier review makes it appear, it's going to be very easy to like this story, as well.
"Dark Wraith" and "The Weapon Master's Choice": Never. Both have little, if any, significance for the later novels, and both are essentially experimental texts. If you've read everything else of "Shannara", then these might be worth a look. But if you have still a few books to go, even just the de-facto prequels that are "Word & Void", then my personal advice would be: Go with those.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2019 4:27:58 GMT -6
Follow-ups to "Sword", 2012-2013.
Premise
In 2013, Brooks released the annotated 35th-anniversary edition of "The Sword of Shannara". Again, Brooks was sort of the low-fi pioneer within his genre, here, because in the years after "Sword 35th", several other classic fantasy writers would publish annotated versions of their books. For me, who considers "Sword" one of his favorite "non-serious" books, the anniversary edition was a thing of beauty, and it's the only English edition of the book that I keep today. - To promote "Sword 35", Brooks wrote a series of short stories, under the mothership title, "Paladins of Shannara", of which "The Weapon Master's Choice" is also nominally a part of. The complete "Paladins" series also marks Brooks' first ebook-only publication, via Amazon's Kindle.
"Allanon's Quest", 2012.
An immediate prequel to "Sword", this story is quite nice because it nails the tone of the original novel. It's likely the best short story within the "Shannara" universe so far: It adds some much-needed background to the whole "Elven arc" of the novel, and it arguably makes one of the most glaring plot holes of the original novel at least sound more plausible to the willing reader. - From a fan's perspective, there is not much else one can want for a text so short: Rarely do any of these "side story"-type tales in general add anything substantial or interesting to their main series, regardless of who the author is; this one does.
"The Black Irix", 2013.
A direct sequel to "Sword", this one deals with a question that was already touched in the "Shannara" video game, many years earlier: What became of Keltset the Troll's talisman, the "Black Irix"? - Lamentably, it does so in a way that is distinctively un-memorable, on its own merits: Shea and Flick return to adventure with Panamon Creel, but the story stops just as things start to get interesting. Moreover, the whole point of this story seems to be to re-establish Panamon and Shea as an adventuring duo, with a literal forecast that there will be more stories with those two (and Flick, in tow) to come. - That forecast is mildly charming, even though we are in YA territory here, again. But by itself, the story doesn't really hold its own ground.
Legacy
Elements from both stories - Allanon taking a few detours while looking for the last heir of "Shannara, and Shea suffering from a PTSD-like illness - would later appear, how not, in the dreadful TV series. To me, personally, especially "Allanon's Quest" showed that Brooks can still get out of the YA cage, now and again, and write stuff that I, as an adult, could find engaging. After all, this was before "The High Druid's Blade" would come out, in'14, and Brooks sort of rehabilitated himself among his fans, after the not-so-good-very-bad "Dark legacy" series. The whole "35th anniversary project" was why I would later consider to give Brooks another try.
Read now, later, or never?
"Allanon's Quest": Now. It's a quality story with some significance for "Sword". If you're not entirely sure whether you'll like Brooks' stlye, this story is probably a good starting point to test this.
"The Black Irix": Later, if the story really turns out to be a prologue to more stories about Shea, Panamon, and Flick. Never, if this rermains a prologue into nowhere.
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Post by Zenopus on Oct 7, 2019 20:55:34 GMT -6
Thanks for this series, Rafael, I'm enjoying reading each new installment. When I was middle school I found a paperback of Sword of Shannara at the public library and immediately realized it was something I would enjoy - I had read LOTR and was looking for more books like it. I read it on a family vacation and greatly enjoyed it. I named an AD&D Dwarf character Hendel. I then read the two sequels and experienced them in a manner similar to the Star Wars sequels - Elfstones felt dense and dark like Empire (and I suspect I would enjoy it more now in the same way) and Wishsong was the return to form (though I was disappointed Garet Jax died). Then the Landover novels, which were delightful, and finally the exciting new Heritage quadrology, which I read as each one came out. I again enjoyed them (the part with Quickening was particularly memorable) but haven't read anything since then. I recently found an original trade paperback of Elfstones - with the Darrell Sweet cover - and thought I might read the original trilogy again. I don't think I can re-read the original trilogy without the original covers, the first by the Hildebrandts and the other two by uber-1980s Darrell Sweet: The rest of the Hildebrandts' art for the first book can be seen here
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2019 7:40:49 GMT -6
Thanks for this series, Rafael, I'm enjoying reading each new installment. When I was middle school I found a paperback of Sword of Shannara at the public library and immediately realized it was something I would enjoy - I had read LOTR and was looking for more books like it. I read it on a family vacation and greatly enjoyed it. I named an AD&D Dwarf character Hendel. Hehe, thank you, brother. - I half-mockingly named one of my best friends Hendel as a kid, which resulted in a good deal of tragedy, as he took it as an insult. Character-wise, I think I have played a few Menions, and at least one Kinson, at some point. I first read the LotR books around when I was about eighteen, I guess, and for most of my teenie days, I was blissfully unaware of how closely Menion Leah was really modelled after Aragorn. So, whenever I would take on a "ranger"-type character, it would basically be him. ...I created a good deal of tragedy by half-mockingly naming one of my best friends in high-school "Hendel". I think he got a thorn in the butt, or something, like Menion does with a gnome. Going to be honest - "Heritage" is probably why I'm doing this reread. The books have probably not aged as well as other fantasy, but the Heritage series is stil extremely well done. Rereading "Talismans" right now, or, rather, listening to it as an audiobook, and it's absurdly good. It's a bit of a shame that Brooks decided to continue the series after that one, because, by itself, this would have been a classic. As it is, the better parts of the series will always be kind of outshone by the weaker parts that followed. I also thought that Garet Jax could have been used more; that Brooks keeps bringing him back in the follow-up stories is probably a sign that he, too, understands that this was a mistake. If we ever get the "Wishsong" sequel that I assume to be in Brooks' head already, then I would strongly suspect that Jax is the likeliest dead character to make a comeback - even before Allanon. Which is why it's such a shame that the TV series discarded all of this: "Shannara", for its time, had some of the greatest visuals ever done within the genre. "Elfstones", in particular, might be in the contendership for the "best" cover in genre history to embody what '80s fantasy was really about. ...And somebody looked at it, and decided to go on with stuff like this. An example of dramatically bad decisionmaking.
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Post by verhaden on Oct 12, 2019 8:08:01 GMT -6
Those covers bring back memories. I used to go to my local library and scan the Fantasy/Sci-Fi aisle for things to read, eventually ending up in the basement overflow to find the good stuff. Dug out my own hardbacks:
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2019 13:23:00 GMT -6
"Walker Boh" has been my avatar on all sorts of different platforms, since forever. Both the two Parkinson artworks, as well as the Dragon Mag illustration. Back at the tender age of... Thirteen, I think I read "Scions" in one sitting, or close to one. These books are why I'm still into fantasy today, I guess.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2019 13:23:12 GMT -6
Got a new piece for you, right away...Let's talk about Grianne Ohmsford.This is something other reviewers would probably do later, but I felt like it might be better to discuss this beforehand, so the approach is less one of "surprise and outrage", and more one of "looking at how this could happen". - So, over the next few weeks, I'm going to discuss a couple of books that, by general consensus, are considered to be very, very good. "Heritage of Shannara", "First King of Shannara", and "Word & Void" are certainly among the best books Brooks has written so far, and might even be considered to be part of the literary canon of the world-wide fantasy genre. That they are generally less well-known today than books by other writers, like Tad Williams ("Osten Ard", 1988-1993), Robert Jordan ("The Wheel of Time", starting 1990), or George R. R. Martin ("Game of Thrones", starting in 1996), mainly has to do with the fact that Brooks' series was very much considered "over" by 1993: All storylines had been resolved, all questions answered, all locales in the setting explored. Just "done". - Sure, there was the 1995 video game, and there was the 1996 gem that is "First King of Shannara", but the series wasn't considered to be up for a large-scale return, even though that is in fact what would later be attempted. Like the tales of, what, "Hawklan the Healer", of "Thieves' World", or of Dave Duncan's "Seventh Sword", "Shannara" was just not considered to have another, what, fifteen novels in its future - also, because Brooks had mostly resisted the usual, almost inevitable sellout: No RPGs, no comic books and graphic novels, no 90s-style merchandising items. Just a very good series of books - one that had concluded at its logical end. ...And then, in the year 2000, and for us, if we continue this pace, just around Christmas, "Ilse Witch" arrives, as part of a new six-part series that will try to reinvent the series - and fails, by the overwhelming consensus of its audience. Or, rather than being so harsh, it's even worse; in almost all serious reviews that are even mildly positive, one will find the one betraying conclusive statement - not verbatim, but more or less: "Fans of the series will enjoy this, but people who don't know Brooks yet might try one of the older books first." Which is really just a reviewer's way of saying, "this is a thoroughly mediocre novel, and I'm not even sure it makes sense in a wider context". So, let's look a little bit into how this could happen. First, let's establish a certain terminology as we go on.The "Shannara" series is certainly long. So, let's make some easy divisions here: The "Allanon Cycle" is what I will from now on refer to as the first eight novels in the series, all "Shannara" books published between 1977 and 1996, as Allanon is, one way or another, one of the central characters of all of them. A second cycle, starting in 1997 with the "Word & Void" series, and later being retconned to be part of the "Shannara" universe, in my very debatable linguo would be the "Hawk Cycle", as their central plot revolves around a character of that name. The "Grianne Cycle", finally, after the character of the same name, is the third, and, as of today, the largest part of the "Shannara" series: It includes all novels that touch events in the in-universe timeline that take place later than "Talismans of Shannara", and, arguably, is not finished, pending one or two key revelations in the upcoming last book of the series in 2020. Generally, "Allanon" and "Hawk" get pretty good reviews, and are regarded as substantial contributions to the genre - "Allanon" more than "Hawk", but still so. "Grianne", however, is considered the terrible terrible. This is ever the more remarkable because Brooks developed "Hawk" at the same time he developed "Grianne". "Was it Brooks?"One argument to be made about why a series could fall out of favor with its fans is usually that the series author simply lost a step. I don't necessarily think that's the case here because, from a point of narrative structure, the "Grianne" sub-series of Shannara is very smartly layed out: After several generational jumps, we arrive at a character that Brooks surprisingly doesn't drop after one story arc. That is a nice change of pace, and perhaps even a conscious, self-aware borrowing out of a certain Frank Herbert's playbook. Brooks' general, substantially intensified attempts at worldbuilding aren't that terrible, either. The world is, generally, quite believable, even after a second, substantial update of its society and politics. Whether the Four Lands are necessarily a good base to build, well, anything, is another matter, but with what he has, Brooks does a decent-enough job. Brooks' biggest problem, IMO, will become over the course of the "Grianne" cycle that he stops inventing new elements to his story, and contents with expanding on the existing lore: I'll go into specifics later on, but the big issue with this is, things get very, very repetitive quite soon. With the possible exception of the "Voyage" trilogy, most later books associated with Grianne - even the good ones - all feature scenes or character constellations that we have already seen in earlier installments. Like, say, visits to the Hadeshorn: In the original trilogy, they had a certain mysticism about them; in "Heritage" they are exciting because the people calling on the spirits of the dead really put themselves in danger by doing so. - But later, after the sixth, or seventh time? Filler, and of the boring kind. "Was it the readers?""Shannara's" return with a proper novel sequence back in 2001, after a seven- or eight-year break since 1993, was made difficult by the general evolution of the genre since the publication of "Talismans": George R. R. Martin, Robert Jordan, and Robin Hobb were the leaders of the genre at the time, and they were writing very different books than Brooks did. "Lord of the Rings" was making it to the theaters. Final Fantasy, Grandia, Warcraft, Diablo, Baldur's Gate, EverQuest, or Zelda were names that every fantasy buff would know. - In short, fantasy had begun to slip into the mainstream, and the audience had changed with it: Vanilla quest fantasy of the style that Brooks writes like perhaps no other had simply gone out of fashion; TSR's demise a few years earlier is certainly an indicator for that. And while the genre would bounce back a few years later, among other things, certainly also through d20, 2001 was perhaps the single worst year in recent history to release a book like "Ilse Witch". In addition to this, and this cannot be understated, the ending of "Talismans" had been, really, really conclusive. A revamp of the series with new, modernized protagonists, and, notably, a female central character, was a new negotiation with the audience. And while Grianne is hardly a feminist Mary Sue, but really, a pretty consistent and well-written character, her storyline through the "Voyage" trilogy is pretty much telegraphed. - So, for people to fall out of love with the character, despite a few very dense and atmospheric introductory chapters, seems somewhat understandable to me. "Was it the publisher?"One big blow for the "Shannara" series - and for fantasy literature, in general - was the death of Lester Del Rey, who can perhaps best be described as Brooks' mentor, back in 1993. If you don't know who Lester Del Rey was, please consider reading up: Basically, without him, no modern fantasy. - And Del Rey's absence as Brooks' editor is felt in all later novels, mainly because of one fundamental decision: The "Allanon Cycle" had been vanilla, but quite experimental, and, except for the setting, not at all simplistic. With the start of the "Grianne Cycle", however, "Shannara" fully becomes a "young adult" series. And while that, whatever, doesn't make the books "dangerously unreadable", the usual YA perks will ail the series for the next dozen books: Teenage protagonists, teenage problems, teenage perspectives, and, of course, nothing ever gets explained satisfactorily any more because, uh-oh, things might be too complex for the audience. Deus-Ex-Machina becomes a real problem for the series because of this. Finally, and this really makes me mad: With the start of the "Grianne Cycle", something begins in "Shannara" that I've not observed in any other book series of this degree of sophistication and renown: Continuity editing and proofreading take a freaking nosedive. Starting with "Ilse Witch", spellings of names will start to vary, protagonists and locales will start to change vital characteristics between books, and when, in one particularly stupid turn of events, even the wrong druid appears to rise from the Hadeshorn, that's when I'd like to... Talk to your supervisor, that is. Not cool. Not cool at all. That this is not a more widely discussed issue is really beyond me. SHAME. SHAME!!! If these younger books are so bad, why even re-read them?- Quite frankly, because the whole situation is so exemplary. Here we have one of the most able writers of his time, with his work slowly becoming "corporatized". Whenever Brooks is left to create something on his own, he excels. Whenever he creates something designed to please his supposed target demographic, the final product just simply sucks. The development of the "Grianne Cycle" as we have it today might be financially astute; but it undoubtedly has cost Brooks his reputation as one of the very best in the business, and it has certainly altered his body of work in ways he himself might not necessarily have liked. - There is a lot to learn from this for all of us who create content for games, or otherwise. ...So, where does this leave us, going forward?
In difference to the earlier "Shannara" novels, I've read most of the novels of the "Grianne Cycle" only once. Understandably so, because I hated most of them. So, my memory of them is rather foggy, and re-reading them will certainly be an interesting experience. Let's see if my very, very negative opinion of them will hold up as I go along. Certainly, both "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara", as well as "The Defenders of Shannara" have their moments of honest and pure genius, in my personal opinion. ...But that's another story, for another time.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2019 21:57:58 GMT -6
The Division of "Shannara" into Three Different Main Story Cycles So, above, I postulate the following:
First, let's establish a certain terminology as we go on.The "Shannara" series is certainly long. So, let's make some easy divisions here: The "Allanon Cycle" is what I will from now on refer to as the first eight novels in the series, all "Shannara" books published between 1977 and 1996, as Allanon is, one way or another, one of the central characters of all of them. A second cycle, starting in 1997 with the "Word & Void" series, and later being retconned to be part of the "Shannara" universe, in my very debatable linguo would be the "Hawk Cycle", as their central plot revolves around a character of that name. The "Grianne Cycle", finally, after the character of the same name, is the third, and, as of today, the largest part of the "Shannara" series: It includes all novels that touch events in the in-universe timeline that take place later than "Talismans of Shannara", and, arguably, is not finished, pending one or two key revelations in the upcoming last book of the series in 2020. Generally, "Allanon" and "Hawk" get pretty good reviews, and are regarded as substantial contributions to the genre - "Allanon" more than "Hawk", but still so. "Grianne", however, is considered the terrible terrible. This is ever the more remarkable because Brooks developed "Hawk" at the same time he developed "Grianne". These three basic story cycles refer to these books, listed above more or less after they date of publication:To give you a more concise overview, I've decided to regroup them in this fashion:
Mind you that the books are listed here in the order in which their stories HAPPEN in the Shannara universe, NOT by order of publication.
Hawk | Left blank. | Allanon | Left blank.
| Grianne | Running With The Demon |
| First King of Shannara |
| Ilse Witch | A Knight of The Word |
| Allanon's Quest |
| Antrax | Angel Fire East |
| The Sword of Shannara |
| Morgawr | Armageddon's Children |
| The Black Irix |
| Jarka Ruus | The Elves of Cintra |
| The Elfstones of Shannara |
| Tanequil | The Gypsy Morph |
| The Weapon Master's Choice |
| Straken | The Bearers of The Black Staff |
| The Wishsong of Shannara |
| Wards of Faerie | The Measure of the Magic |
| Indomitable |
| Bloodfire Quest |
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| Dark Wraith of Shannara |
| Witch Wraith |
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| The Scions of Shannara |
| The High Druid's Blade |
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| The Druid of Shannara |
| The Darkling Child |
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| The Elf Queen of Shannara |
| The Sorcerer's Daughter |
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| The Talismans of Shannara |
| The Black Elfstone |
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| The Skaar Invasion |
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| The Stiehl Assassin |
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| The Last Druid |
...As I already discuss above, "Allanon" is generally considered Brooks' best, with "Hawk" also receiving a lot of praise for its storytelling and conceptual setup as well. "Grianne", arguably the "main" Shannara series at this point, as been receiving mixed to bad reviews, with one of the major criticisms being made that it's YA-oriented tone doesn't fit with the rest of the series.
To give you the briefest of general overviews on the series:
"Hawk" begins as a cycle of urban fantasy stories set in the real world of the 20th century, eventually morphing into a series of full-fledged post-apocalyptic tales, as the series goes on. Especially the first few books are horror and survival novels, likely inspired by Stephen King's "It" and "The Stand", rather than that they would belong to the fantasy genre.
"Allanon" denominates the sequence of book that Brooks is arguably best known for, a series of vanilla quest-style epic fantasy tales, with Brooks' main inspirations within the genre likely being Tolkien, Lloyd Alexander, and authors like Poul Anderson.
"Grianne", finally, builds on the world established in "Allanon", introducing us to a steampunk-flavored/powder-punk fantasy setting with dark fantasy elements. While his main inspirations within the genre remain the same as above, Brooks has repeatedly mentioned William Faulkner's dynastic stories of the American South as an influence for his portrayal of the evolution of the Ohmsford family through the centuries.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2019 23:58:04 GMT -6
"The Scions of Shannara", 1990.
Spoilerific Mini-Review
This one's easy, because this book is oh-so-good. 300 years after the events of "Wishsong", the descendants of the Ohmsford family, still imbued with the magic of their ancestors, reunite to fight a great evil, in what will eventually develop into a fantasy extravaganza of the finest kind.
The Best
The setup and the pointes: Brooks has previously spent three books establishing a simplistic, "faerie tale"-style fantasy world with simplistic, "faerie tale"-style stories and characters. And with "Scions", and over the course of the entire sequence that is "The Heritage of Shannara", he takes these narrative elements, and begins to undercut and to subvert them: Brooks often quotes Faulkner as his main literary influence: I see why he does this when I look at this novel; it's a tale of dwarves and elves, yes, but it feels like we're moving from Faulkner's "Hamlet" to "The Town". We're still in the same world, but our point of view has changed into something way more complex, and we can't necessarily rely on past experiences to predict how things will turn out.
It cannot be overstated just how good this is: While writing a fantasy book for adult audiences is hardly something new in 1990, this feeling of "growing up" with is hardly exemplified in such a dramatic fashion as it is with Brooks.
The Worst
While being a must-read for any fantasy fan worth his or her salt, "Scions" is not without problems: First, the whole dynamic of writing basically one long novel and then dividing it into four books, like Brooks does with the "Heritage" series, generally does have its disadvantages. With "Scions" itself, we get basically a beefed-up first quarter of a full novel; so, the action is slow, and while we spent a lot of time with the characters, instead of the minimal time we spent with getting to know Brinn and Jair in "Wishsong", things tend to get a bit slow. This is connected to Brooks' second problem, which is that his characters, with two particular exceptions, are too closely modeled after people we've already seen from him. While this provides us with a story with a very high degree of recognition value, the characters have very little to say that defines them by themselves, outside of their respective backgrounds. That doesn't make them bland, and most of them become pretty interesting in later books, but for now, we barely get to say more than a passing "hello" to them.
Notable Characters Cogline: The crazy old geezer from "Wishsong" makes a surprising comeback, all changed! Using the character this way must have been a great risk for Brooks, but he sells it extraordinarily well.
Walker Boh: Not even going to try to be objective here - my single favorite character in the whole "Shannara" series, even though he starts out here as being almost annoyingly angst-y. He adds a depth to the story that the other main characters - mainly, Par and Col Ohmsford - do not yet bring to the table.
Legacy
With "Scions", Brooks finds his signature style, the core of the "Shannara" formula, if you will. He has tested many of these concepts in the past, but it is here where he defines what a wider "Shannara" universe will look like, for him: Plot-wise, this means that all subsequent novels will nominally be "questing fantasy", with the heroes going after a specific McGuffin - that will then turn out not to be just as important as we thought it would be. Character-wise, this means the "Brooks Party" becomes a literary convention. All, or at least most of Brooks' fantasy books will, from now on, feature the following main characters: The Assistant Pig-Keeper (usually, an Ohmsford), the Will Kane (usually, a Leah), the Ged (usually, a druid), the Captain Ahab (usually, and somewhat surprisingly, an Elessedil), and the Han Solo (usually, a Creel). - And, at least for a time, this will work, and work quite well.
And here is some trivia for you: "Scion Capital", as popularized by the movie "The Big Short", is actually named after "The Scions of Shannara". So, wildly successful people read Terry Brooks' books? - Noted.
Read now, later, or never?
Now! - This is Brooks at his best, and him probably at the peak of his creativity. One of the defining books of the genre, in my personal opinion. Even if the plot - about which I have deliberately not talked about in this review - is essentially "only" a slightly darker mirror to the original "Sword". If you made it through the original trilogy, but decided to skip "Scions", my urgent recommendation is for you to correct this mistake.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2019 0:57:42 GMT -6
Footnote:
"Dark Wraith" and "Scions": The Ohmsfords become the Lannisters! Or, why Brooks needs a better continuity editor, like, now.
I have previously spoken about "Dark Wraith of Shannara", the comic book experiment of 2008. While my feelings about the work as a whole are quite mixed, there's one particular detail that gives me teh [sic] cringe: So, both "Indominable" and "Dark Wraith" plant the roots for a romantic relationship between Kimber Boh, Cogline's adopted daughter and Walker Boh's female ancestor, and Jair Ohmsford. Brooks goes as far as he'll ever go with this topic in making it clear to us that these two are meant to end up together. - And while that is fine and nice, it also royally messes up the Ohmsford family tree, and the overall series continuity:
So, Walker Boh, in "Scions", is presented to us as Brinn's (and Rone Leah's, as per "Indomitable"!) last surviving descendant. His whole plot - him being destined to become the next druid, a fact that he loathes until the very end - hangs on that premise, as in "Wishsong", a dying Allanon had prophecised something of the kind to a tearful Brinn.
Now, if Jair and Kimber hook up, and stay together - assuming that their blossoming romance has any narrative point, at all, because why else present it? - then that makes Walker Boh the descendant of both Jair AND Brin - and consequently, also an offspring of the House of Leah. And while that's nice enough, and ol' Shea, Menion, and even Flick, would probably have quite loved the idea, thinking this idea through with a certan sense of consequence leads to chaos:
So, within the 300 years between "Wishsong", Jair and Kimber Boh had children. And from there, one branch of their descendants one branch intermingled with an unknown Elven family, the other, as we'll learn later, with a WELL-KNOWN Elven family, and a third branch presumably intermarried again with the Ohmsford-Leah branch.
So, why is Walker Boh not "Walker Leah", then? Why does Morgan Leah sport the Sword of Leah, and not Walker? Why doesn't Walker have Jair's Wishsong? Why doesn't Morgan Leah have the Wishsong? Why doesn't Wren have the Wishsong? Why would the Leahs go back on calling themselves the Ohmsfords, at any point in time? Why would noone but Walker know about Cogline? Why wouldn't all of the protagonists have even closer ties, and know way more about the threat of the Shadowen, if they had these sort of inter-familial connections? Why...? It just makes no sense.Now, of course, we can postulate that this is so because Jair's and Kimber's thing was, well, a one-time thing. Maybe. And maybe Menion Leah and Shirl Ravenlock died childless, and secretly adopted Balinor's bastard, you know. - What I'm saying is that Brooks applies two kinds of logic here. In the novels, we're educated to think in a Faulknerian way: The protagonists are always supposed to be direct descendants of the main characters from the earlier books, not "from some scattered branches of the family". (This will come later, in "Defenders".) Now, if we postulate that "Jair + Kimber = Walker" without negating that "Brin + Rone = Walker", then we have to think of things in a different way: Then, Par and Col are just descendants of the "Backwood Ohmsfords", while all more successful branches of the family have moved on. Then, Jair and Col are also descendants of Kimber Boh, and should know Cogline the same way Walker did. Then, "the real story" might have been with them, and not with the ones we get to know in "Scions". Then, Walker is even more of a central character, as the last truly lineal, first-born descendant, and then, Morgan Leah is also quite probably part of the Ohmsford family tree. I wouldn't mind that if it was what Brooks seemed to have intended in "Scions", but it seems clear he hadn't. Now it seems like I'm nitpicking on a detail that is perhaps not even semi-cannon - but either we're here with "Fantasy Faulkner", and then we're supposed to take lineage-related matters seriously, or we're not, then the characters are just tokens and namedrops, from now on. Bad, very bad, this.
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Post by tkdco2 on Oct 20, 2019 20:22:32 GMT -6
Scions of Shanarra was the last one I read. At this time I gave up, as I generally don't like having to read series of books (LOTR being a notable exception). It's why I never even started reading the Wheel of Time or Game of Thrones series.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2019 4:02:01 GMT -6
Scions of Shanarra was the last one I read. At this time I gave up, as I generally don't like having to read series of books (LOTR being a notable exception). It's why I never even started reading the Wheel of Time or Game of Thrones series. Noooo! Then you missed what is generally considered the best book in the whole series, "The Druid of Shannara"! Myself, I have nothing against longer series, but I like dynastic, cross-generational tales more than Robert Jordan/GRRM-style "endless adventure" stories with the same characters. So, "Shannara" is more up my alley than, whatever, "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant". This is also why I'm generally more into historical fiction than I'm necessarily into fantasy; fantasy where the setting is in the center, and not specific characters being a rare exception. (Say, Bill Willingham's "Fables".) But outside of that, longer stories with several heroic cycles within them, like, say, "Elric" - they never manage to catch me quite like "Pillars of the Earth"-style stuff.
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Post by tkdco2 on Oct 25, 2019 4:46:16 GMT -6
I must admit I've been more into nonfiction the last decade or two. I do enjoy reading fiction books once in a while, although these days I prefer to mystery than fantasy.
But I notice I shy away from long series. If a story takes several novels to finish, I probably won't buy the books, especially if I have a lot of "catching up" to do. I don't mind reading books featuring the same protagonist, as long as the novels themselves are self-contained. So I can read several mystery novels featuring a certain detective because each novel is a different story.
Have you read Terry Brooks' Landover series? I read the first book (which I borrowed from a library), but I never found the sequels.
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Post by thefoxdie on Oct 26, 2019 14:53:12 GMT -6
I've read every Shannara novel that I could get my grubby hands on. It's been a staple of my reading since my childhood when a teacher suggested "The Sword of Shannara" to me. I find it funny that any one particular novel series could get hate. I just don't get it. They all served their purpose, each story interlocking within the overall "lore" of the world. I've feel that there are some forgettable entries, because some things just....well, they're just there. They aren't good or bad. They just are there. Maybe I'm missing the overall point, but to me, a story has to be memorable. It has to have a clear direction it's going. Terry Brooks tends to not deviate from that particular formula much. I do feel that the after say....the whole Grianne getting put into the Forbidding and has to be saved and so on kind of seem rushed in a way, almost like Terry just doesn't wanna do Shannara anymore. Which would make total sense, the overall series has dominated his life for years.
The television show....I'll say it had potential early. They went so sideways with it....and the sad part is? I doubt fans will get another. It boggles my mind how Terry Brooks helped on that series and seen the story writers going so sideways with his material and just was like "This is fine". I apologize if I'm rambling here, but I figured I would break the ice with this.
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Post by Zenopus on Oct 27, 2019 22:29:04 GMT -6
Noooo! Then you missed what is generally considered the best book in the whole series, "The Druid of Shannara"! Seconded. While I enjoyed the whole Scions series at the time, at this late date Druids is the only one I can remember the plot of.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2019 4:13:04 GMT -6
But I notice I shy away from long series. If a story takes several novels to finish, I probably won't buy the books, especially if I have a lot of "catching up" to do. I don't mind reading books featuring the same protagonist, as long as the novels themselves are self-contained. So I can read several mystery novels featuring a certain detective because each novel is a different story. This is more or less where I'm going, as well: It's also what makes a lot of contemporary fantasy age very, very badly, in my opinion - characters are always "doomed to franchise". "Shannara" is arguably not as bad as other series, because most sequels are "indirect", and, within a very broad series context, "self-contained". But other series, like "The Wheel of Time", or David Farland's otherwise excellent "Runelords" - they just wear you out as a reader, as they inevitably turn into "The Bold and The Beautiful", meaning that they tend to become soap operas with circular storytelling. (Naming Farland because otherwise it's like I'm pooping only on Robert Jordan, every time we talk about this topic.) Have you read Terry Brooks' Landover series? I read the first book (which I borrowed from a library), but I never found the sequels. Yeah, but I don't own them, which is why I'm generally leaving them out of my reviews, as I go along: I remember the plot, but I don't remember the character names, or any other details, and I believe I'm even mixing them up, in my mind with similar other light/comedy fantasy books. I remember that I liked them, though, and I will perhaps reread them once I'm through with the complete "Shannara" series. - Like, I'm looking forward to it, especially since I think two new "Landover" books came out fairly recently, or something like that. I do feel that the after say....the whole Grianne getting put into the Forbidding and has to be saved and so on kind of seem rushed in a way, almost like Terry just doesn't wanna do Shannara anymore. Which would make total sense, the overall series has dominated his life for years. Hey! Glad you indeed found your way here! I'm not sure I get your point about a series getting "hate", but I agree with your assessment that Brooks seems, honestly, pretty burned out on "Shannara" in the last few books: He has interesting ideas, but especially with "Dark Legacy", it seems like he is disinterested in his main characters. The same happens later, in "Fall", by the way, at least how I look at the books. My personal opinion is, looking at Brooks' writing pace, that he hands in manuscripts that then get edited to death by other people, rather than that he himself puts in the finishing touches. The television show....I'll say it had potential early. They went so sideways with it....and the sad part is? I doubt fans will get another. It boggles my mind how Terry Brooks helped on that series and seen the story writers going so sideways with his material and just was like "This is fine". I apologize if I'm rambling here, but I figured I would break the ice with this. Thing is, the series, on a purely conceptual level - which is at which Brooks was apparently involved - isn't terrible: The post-apocalyptic design is, in principle, coherent with the Hawk cycle. The division of the story from Elfstones into the respective chapters is also okay, in principle. Allanon's extended backstory is not terrible, either; if at all, the re-interpretation brings him closer to the many "Bearers of the Black Staff" that came before him. What outright kills the series, though, is the on-set design, and the on-set directing: The dialogues, and the terrible acting. - All other deviations from the books could be sellable, even with a very reduced budget like they had. Interchanging the kingdom of Leah with Graymark, and turning the D&D Dwarves from the books into black people was a terrible choice for an adaptation, sure. But the problem was that the on-set directors decided, basically, to turn "Shannara" into "Glee". ...Which turned out as well as one might think from hearing such a description.
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Post by thefoxdie on Oct 28, 2019 8:59:16 GMT -6
I appreciate it! Thanks!
Eh, I mean that for me, the whole series was fine. Sure, there were points that I could have lived without, and books I don't re-read. But upon first reading, they at least served their purpose. It's kinda jarring that he's finally "ending" the series to me, even though I do understand. I could imagine any writer being put off by the editing process. Any artist for that matter. His finishing touches frequently hit the mark, but otherwise...eh. They're just there, as I said.
Hey now, I'm a sucker for Ivana Baquiro. Otherwise....yeah. The acting was sub par. The dialogues didn't make much sense. While there were many recognizable things from the many different parts of Terry Brooks's novels, otherwise it played out like a horrible joke. Nevermind that guy....uh....I forget his name now, which tells you all you need to know about how forgettable he was, he brings back the Warlock Lord in the second season. Which.....never happened in any of the novels outside of the Sword, possibly, and nowhere nearly as badly. Leah was done horribly. Graymark was just....a generic fort in the middle of the wild. The premise of people being against magic was done before in the novels, but it was the humans that did it, not the elves. It came off just...goofy and nonsensical. Probably everything about the second season came off as goofy and nonsensical if I'm being honest.
Edit-BANDON! lol His name was Bandon. My brain works weird.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2019 2:30:18 GMT -6
Hey now, I'm a sucker for Ivana Baquiro. Otherwise....yeah. The acting was sub par. The dialogues didn't make much sense. While there were many recognizable things from the many different parts of Terry Brooks's novels, otherwise it played out like a horrible joke. Nevermind that guy....uh....I forget his name now, which tells you all you need to know about how forgettable he was, he brings back the Warlock Lord in the second season. Which.....never happened in any of the novels outside of the Sword, possibly, and nowhere nearly as badly. Leah was done horribly. Graymark was just....a generic fort in the middle of the wild. The premise of people being against magic was done before in the novels, but it was the humans that did it, not the elves. It came off just...goofy and nonsensical. Probably everything about the second season came off as goofy and nonsensical if I'm being honest. Edit-BANDON! lol His name was Bandon. My brain works weird. Hehe, yeah. "Bandon". Following conventional logic, the character could have become really interesting, perhaps as the forefather of the Shadowen from the "Heritage" series, where we currently are. (Spoiler: The Shadowen are, vaguely enough, described as Elves who lost their minds over the use of magic.) As it is presented in the show, though, like everything else - it's just very, very corny. I dread the moment when I will arrive at the show, in my review - because to have to sit through another hour or two of this stuff to refresh my memory - with something as bad as that, I would never do that.
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